Even the Aussie PM has joined in, being treated as one of the biggest scandals in Australian history. What happened to the clubs overhere, oh nothing, the Rugby League have no backbone and are ditected too by a small number of clubs.

I have been stuck in Oz for a week (hard life) so have seen things first hand.
I was in Melbourne where the AFL are loving it and saying that the city does not want RL and in Sydney where the majority are happy it has happened to them.
I can not see them surviving,sponsors have pulled out, they will lose all their best players, crowds will be way down, and finally Fox and terrestial will not put on a nothing game.
All this will hit finances of a club which has already been told to pay back almost 2 million Oz dollars.
North Sydney franchise is the way to go and let Melbourne stick to its AFL

1) The AFL will love it.
2) The majority will not be happy it happened to any RL team. Any approval you may have heard will be bravado from the ignorant minority. I've lived in Sydney for a fair amount of time and know for a fact that the locals, in general, won't be happy with anything that halts the expansion of RL.
3) They will survive. Like Quins, the NRL won't let them die as the benefits of having a top Melbourne based club a huge.
4) Sponsors may have pulled out, others will come in.
5) Sure, they'll lose a few players but the Melbourne relationship with the cream of the QLD RL feeder clubs will bring a new batch through.
6) Lose their fans? They're a pretty tight group down in Melbourne. They turned up fot a "nothing" game just 3 days ago with 23, 906 in attendance.
7) Fox and Channel 9 screen all but two fixtures every week. To suggest that they won't screen games involving Melbourne, who will continue to produce top opposition against the leagues elite, no mate!
7) North Sydney/Gosford, yes! I sure hope so as I'm likely to live there in a few years.
Forget Melbourne.

RP.
I to have been to Melbourne and Sydney many times, it just seems the mood this time is very different.
Nothing like when the dogs got their punishment, this time they are really angry.
The Sydney papers are really out to get Melbourne (as they would be) and it does not help the negativity shown in Melbourne to the whole fiasco.
I suppose I am one of the biased peope who just dislike Melbourne sTORM.
They were formed when the SL started in Oz and failed and my club Wests had to merge with Balmain as did St George with Illawara and Norths were booted out so I guess this is where my bitterness comes from.
It smacks of the expansionism in this country, yes Melbourne will get all the help it needs to stay afloat when other clubs struggle along keeping within the rules.
Finally the large crowd on Anzac day was no surprise, just wait till later rounds then we will see the true loyalty of the Melbourne public.

BTW Wish I could move there. Too old now.
I'd move to Concord, Cabarrita area in a shot if I had a spare couple of Mill.